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Front differential leak, not the fill or drain plug
Hummer H3For the Hummer driver who wants the rugged look and off road capabilities of the Hummer, but in a smaller size and with a more fuel economy friendly engine.
Every fastener on the H3 is metric. Diff cover bolts = 8MMx1.25. The prior owner or a service tech just went dumbchit Gorilla mode and overtightened. The OEM bolts came with a thread locker on them, they just need to hold that thin cover in place to form a seal, there is no stress on the bolts.
Older GM Diffs had SAE.
Can you fit a short bit on a 90 degree drill in the space to drill the bolt for an extractor? I have a Dewalt 20V 90 degree drill with deep chuck, it can get in some fairly tight quarters.
I used a 90 degree drill. I pre-drilled the nut and put an extractor on it, started to work the extractor and it snapped. No meat left to weld a nut on there either.
When I say the bolts were tight, they were tight all the way through. Every single one of them. It's not like they were tight to break loose, it was a struggle until they were almost out.
Last edited by MadDogBimmer89; Jun 6, 2024 at 10:54 AM.
I used a 90 degree drill. I pre-drilled the nut and put an extractor on it, started to work the extractor and it snapped. No meat left to weld a nut on there either.
When I say the bolts were tight, they were tight all the way through. Every single one of them. It's not like they were tight to break loose, it was a struggle until they were almost out.
What is the proper size bolt anyway? Is it supposed to be 5/16 - 18 inch or M8 x 1.25? Because who ever serviced this dif previously put metric in, probably why they were so tight. Needless to say I am screwed, bolt extractor broke, so now I have a bolt and extractor suck in there might have to remove the entire dif at this point and take it somewhere.
Or can I get away with just 9 bolts instead of 10? The one that broke off is above the fill line, so I am not sure how critical it would be. I feel pretty defeated at this point.
I gave up, slit my finger open on the dif housing, spent over $300 in tools trying to get this POS out. Welding a nut didn't work. I am sure mostly due to my lack of experience and no room to work.
Put the cover back on minus one bolt, I am sure it'll leak. Gonna have to keep and eye on it and tackle it again when it gets cooler, or I get a mini split in my garage.
might have to remove the entire dif at this point and take it somewhere.
